The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,That host with their banners at sunset were seen:Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!

And there lay the steed with his nostrils all wide,But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride:And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider distorted and pale,With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail;And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

Several things in this text are worthy of reflection. First, the Lord says, “I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear news.” The expression is shrouded in mystery. Was it the report of an approaching Egyptian force (vv. 8-9) whom the Lord might have stirred? Or the stunning news of the destruction of his army at Jerusalem? (19:35-36). Most likely the latter. The declaration that God would be orchestrating the message is clear (cf. Acts 17:26). Sennacherib’s arrogance would be replaced with a paralysis of fear!

Second, there is the prophecy that he would return to his own land. The ruler did go home presently. Significant, however, is the fact that while he engaged in a number of subsequent military campaigns, he never again returned to Judah! Why not?

Finally, Jehovah declared: “I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” This amazing prophecy was fulfilled precisely—some twenty years later. As one scholar has noted: “The mills of God grind slowly but exceedingly fine” (Patterson 1988, 268).

So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer [two sons] smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead (2 Kings 19:36-37).

An inscription from the annals of Esar-haddon (680 B.C.) confirms the biblical record:

In the month of Nisan . . . I made my joyful entrance into the royal palace, the awesome place wherein abides the fate of kings. A firm determination fell upon my brothers. They forsook the gods and returned to their deeds of violence, plotting evil . . . . They revolted. To gain the kingship they slew Sennacherib, their father" (Caiger 1944, 161-162).

The renegades fled. It is an ironical twist that the Assyrian ruler, who boasted that Judah’s God could not protect Jerusalem, himself was murdered “as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god.”

Sennacherib reign marked the beginning of the final spectacular century of the Assyrian Empire. His murder and replacement by Esarhaddon resulted in the rebuilding of Babylon and the moving of the capitol there.

In the spring of 336 BC, Philip begun the invasion of Persia. He sent generals Attalus and Parmenio with an advance force of 10,000 Macedonian troops, to cross over into Asia Minor and pave the way for the later advance of the main army. And while the Macedonians were crossing the Hellespont, in Macedonia everything was ready for the grand celebration for the wedding of Philip's daughter Cleopatra to prince Alexander of Epirus, brother of Olympias. The first day of the celebrations the guests saw a lavish entertained of every sort. But on the second day of the celebration, while entering the theater passing between his son Alexander and his new son-in-law Alexander, Philip was struck with a dagger and killed on the spot. The assassin Pausanias, a young Macedonian noble, attempted to escape but tripped and was killed on the spot by few close friends of Philip's son Alexander.

The great Macedonian conqueror was dead, the men who liberated his country from foreign occupation and brought if from the edge of the abyss into a world power. His dream for conquering the Persian Empire now lays on his successor, his son king Alexander III. But both ancient and modern historians recognize that without the military and political efforts of Philip, Alexander would have never been as successful as he was. After all, it was Philip who created the powerful Macedonian army and turned Macedonia into a strong nation in arms.

I managed to stay awake long enough to make this week's games and send out invites.

I'm simply too damn tired to actually check scores. Sorry, but it's been a hard week. Anyway, play and enjoy, and this tourney will be my first priority for updating either next weekend or even midweek if I get a day off work.